Unity, the new normal for counties

The snow phenomenon is a marvel for those of us from the tropics, where we hardly experience snowfall. The first time I saw snow I was awestruck. Few people can fathom the wonders of snow.

Now, snow, I came to know, is a "union" of many small droplets called snowflakes. Singly, they even melt in your palm. In a "union", they can be as hard as a rock. And that is when they are most useful.

One can go skating, build castles, do snow hockey and so forth. My readers will wonder where I am going with this talk about snow. I ask for your kind indulgence.

If you want to move fast, the adage goes, then walk alone. If you want to go far, go in a group.

This statement holds great truths. This truth informs such noble concepts as chamas, where a few people come together and in a merry-go-round way, raise money that would have taken one person a longer time and painful savings.

I am sure the first home appliances (TV, fridge) that most of us bought with our first salaries were collections from a chama. The power of numbers can never be gainsaid.

I believe it is the spirit of such concepts that has informed the recent formation of county blocks. The most recent to be launched was the North Rift County Governments. There are existing county caucuses in the Coast and Nyanza regions.

Realising that together we can go far, seven counties of Nothern Kenya (Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, Isiolo, Marsabit and Lamu) have come together and formed the Northern Frontier Counties Development Council. It is easy to ask why, what for?

What much could be realised this way? I can bet that a lot can be achieved.

Will this not take us back to square one? In other words, if more is better, why is devolution celebrated so much and would the formation of county blocks not take us several steps back to a centralised system that we chafed at for so long?

I bet no.

Alas, after 50 years of experimenting with the centralised system, we all agree that things should have been better.

The magic of devolution is evident, hardly 24 months after it was rolled out. Devolution has increased competition and consequently increased accountability.

It has made us equal; from Mandera to Turkana to Kisumu to Kilifi. We are all equal.

There is an admirable sense of purpose and identity in the regions now. Communities are at the left, right and centre of decision-making.

Government is alive. The people are more assertive. They know what is a good, functioning government.

They won't tolerate the slow, opaque nature of a centralised government that they have had for long.

Though things have not been as fast as expected, the first 18 months have seen sweeping changes in many sectors. It is tempting to see this progress as a drop in the ocean. To those who have endured years of utter seclusion, that is not so.

For them, even after 50 years of independence, they never rose beyond the first level in the hierarchy of needs as described by American psychologist Abraham Maslow.

It is life-changing when you think of the first ceasearian section at a hospital, the fist kilometre of tarmac road, good, better schools, clean water flowing out of a tap in a nondescript address for the first time and to a smaller extent, employment.

No doubt, the jobs created by the new units have put food on the table of families of legions of unemployed but educated youth.

In the next phase, the focus will be on solutions that are sustainable both in the short and long term.

Remember that an impatient electorate is out there watching. They want faster development They want to feel that their money is being put to good use.

For that to happen, counties will have to move away from the National Treasury cycle of July 1 to June 30.

That calls for a radical rethink and innovation.

It means they have to think about investments that bring them returns.

Such investments will require huge sums of money. Hence the need to come together as one.

And this is why. It is easier and makes great economic sense to pull together to say, raise money for a fully-fledged university equipped with resources for research work for technology and even medicine.

Such ventures require deep pockets. With county governments having to weigh between planning for the short term and the long term, coming together as counties with common interests becomes the better option.

Unless we come together, we will be like snowflakes, beautiful but without much use.